Review: Wines of Dutcher Crossing, Summer 2023 Releases
We’re longtime fans of Sonoma-based Dutcher Crossing, and today we’re checking out three new releases for 2023, including our first sparkling from the winery, a chardonnay, and a top-shelf, reserve cabernet that’s been mellowing for six years.
NV Dutcher Crossing Posterity Reserve Blanc de Blancs – Fresh and lively, this is a classic California chardonnay-based sparkler, full of bright apple fruit, touched with Meyer lemon and mandarin orange notes. Bracing with a gentle saline quality and punchy acidity — and backed by a moderate to heavy carbonation — the wine is perfectly positioned for summertime sipping, folding in light floral touches late in the game which pair well with its fruit-laden attack. Excellent balance, California in a glass. A- / $56
2019 Dutcher Crossing Chardonnay Stuhlmuller Vineyard – A huge and unrestrained oak bomb, this monster of a chardonnay starts with lemon-infused vanilla and only goes down the rabbit hole from there. Bold on the palate with notes of toasted coconut and buttercups, the wine moves quickly into overtly sweet territory, becoming almost cloying by the time you’re midway through a glass. An aggressively candylike element gives the finish a somewhat doctored quality, though there’s at least a modicum of citrusy acidity throughout to keep things from falling over the edge into oblivion. B / $42
2017 Dutcher Crossing Cabernet Sauvignon Taylor Reserve – Cabernet rarely pops with life when immediately poured from the bottle, but this expression — after 6 years waiting for release — is as lively a cab as you’ll find. Beautiful blueberry and blackberry notes offer a lovely introduction to a wine that segues slowly into a more “serious” character driven by light balsamic elements, dried figs, dark chocolate, oily leather, and turned earth. The finish sees a tart cherry element bringing a slightly sour note into focus, although it melds nicely with all that’s come before. Immersive and rich at cellar temperature, this wine loses a bit of its charm — and a lot of its fruit — as it warms up, so plan your service appropriately. A / $52
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